Scurvy, also called vitamin C deficiency, is of the most serious diseases affecting
teenagers today. It is caused by a dietary lack of vitamin C (ascorbic acid), a
nutrient found in many fresh fruits and vegetables, particularly the citrus fruits.
Ascorbic acid is important in the formation of collagen (an element of normal tissues),
and any deficiency interferes with normal tissue synthesis.

How can I tell if I have scurvy?

Scurvy is characterized by swollen and bleeding gums with loosened teeth, soreness and
stiffness of the joints and lower extremities, bleeding under the skin and in deep
tissues, slow wound healing, and anemia. If you experience any of these symptoms,
you should consult a physician immediately -- you may be suffering from scurvy.

Here are pictures of some of the scurvy "warning signs".

Gingival Hemorrhage

Corkscrew Hair

Periungual Hemorrhage

So what's so special about this ascorbic acid stuff anyway?

When collagen is made, the proline amino acids are changed to hydroxyproline, by a
process called post-translational modification. An enzyme called prolyl hydroxylase
catalyses this change. This enzyme requires an Fe2+
ion to be present. Fe2+ is relatively unstable, and will
become oxidized easily. Ascorbic acid, a water-soluble antioxidant, keeps Fe in the 2+
form, and not in the more stable 3+ form.

James Cook, the great British sea captain, knew what was best for his sailors. Shortly
before his death, he wrote in his journal:

Every innovation whatever, tho ever so much to their advantage, is sure to meet
with the highest disapprobation from Seamen: Portable Soup and Sour Krout were at first
condemned by them as stuff not fit for human beings to eat. Few men have introduced into
their ships more novelties in the way of victuals and drink than I have done. It has,
however, in a great measure been owing to such little innovations that I have always kept
my people generally speaking free from that dreadful distemper the Scurvy.

John Woodall

John Woodall (1556-1643) was a military surgeon in Lord Willoughby's regiment in 1591
and later first surgeon-general to the East India Company in 1612 and surgeon to St.
Bartholomew's Hospital from 1616 to 1643. In 1617, he published the first edition of The
Surgeon's Mate, a volume containing an extensive inventory and description of the
medicines and their uses and of the instruments that the chest of the Surgeon's Mate
should contain.

Woodall devoted pages 160-176 to "the scurvy called in Latine Scorbutum." His
therapeutic section considers treatments for a variety of symptoms and complications for
associated conditions. The preface to this section includes the remarkable statement:

... [W]e have in our owne country here many excellent remedies generally knowne,
as namely, Scurvy-grasse, Horse-Reddish roots, Nasturtia Aquatica, Wormwood, Sorrell, and
many other good meanes... to the cure of those which live at home...they also helpe some
Sea-men returned from farre who by the only natural disposition of the fresh aire and
amendment of diet, nature herselfe in effect doth the Cure without other helps...
[At
sea,] the Lemmons, Limes, Tamarinds, Oranges,
and other choice of good helps in the Indies... do farre exceed any that can be carried
tither from England.

These observations are soundly in keeping with modern knowledge of the vitamin C
content of the above remedies and of the labile nature of this vitamin when stored.

James Lind

James Lind was born in Edinburgh, Scotland, the son of a merchant. At age 15 he was
apprenticed to a physician and in 1739 passed the examination for surgeon's mate in the
Royal Navy. In 1753, he published his classic work "A Treatise of the Scurvy".

James Lind, a pioneer in
the field of scurvy prevention.

"On the 20th of May, 1747," the Treatise begins, "I took twelve
patients in the scurvy on board the Salisbury at sea. Their cases were as similar as I
could have them." Lind went on the describe a classic therapeutic experiment on
sailors with scurvy in which various proposed remedies were tested as antiscorbutics.
His experiment provided clear evidence of the curative value of oranges and lemons
and was also the first example of a controlled clinical nutrition study using human
subjects.

Here's What People Are Saying About Scurvy:

Robert P

Having scurvy was an awful experience. All of the kids at school made fun of me and
called me "fat veins". Now I make sure to eat lots of limes so that won't happen
again. The kids call me "limey" now but at least my gums don't bleed any more.

Emily L

My sister was severely anorexic until I warned her about the dangers of scurvy. Now
she eats up to three grapefruits a day!

Laura R

Teenagers today think they'll live forever. They start living life on the edge, going
to extremes, doing dangerous stuff like drunken driving, drug use, unprotected sex, and
worst of all, avoiding their vitamin supplements. That's why it's so important that we get
scurvy information out to the public. I applaud monzy.com
for being a pioneer in this respect.

Ian N

I had a horrible rash, and I was afraid that it was scurvy! I couldn't understand it
because I had been making sure to eat lots of spinach. Then I went to the doctor and he
said that it was just genital herpes. What a relief!

This page was brought to you by the Carnegie Mellon chapter of the National Association
for Scurvy Awareness and Prevention: